


Age of the Binary

by MsFaust



Category: Digimon Tamers
Genre: Mutation, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Superpowers, Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-06-06
Packaged: 2019-11-08 06:18:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17976059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsFaust/pseuds/MsFaust
Summary: Something is changing the people of Shinjuku, resulting in mutations straight out of a comic book. Is there a connection to the Digital World? And just how far will it spread?One thing is for sure: those transformed will never be the same.





	1. Chapter 1

Airi Hamasaki stood in front of her dresser, looking into the mirror with concern on her face. Last night, she’d gone to bed feeling under the weather, but when she awoke that morning, she felt much better. However, she also had started to develop magenta scales on her upper arms, similar to those of an insect. She thought she’d be able to conceal them until she could get them looked at, but they had spread down her arms and appeared on her torso and lower legs too.  
  
Now, as she looked at her reflection, she could see her eyes had changed too, becoming solid-looking amber orbs that seemed to bulge out of her head slightly, again similar to an insect.  
  
Somehow, she knew she was becoming something not entirely human—or rather something more than human. Yet it felt almost natural, like she was a caterpillar turning into a butterfly, albeit without the need for a chrysalis.  
  
_I wonder how long it will take_ , Airi wondered. _More importantly, I wonder what exactly I’m becoming._  
  
*  
  
At Hypnos headquarters, Mitsuo Yamaki was looking over the readings from the past few days with concern. Up until a week ago, Digimon had emerged rather infrequently, and most vanished soon after. However, not only was the rate of incursions slowly going up, but several incredibly strange readings had come up—it appeared that the equipment was detecting multiple instances of something not quite Digimon and not quite human.  
  
_Some sort of hybrid?_ he wondered. _And if so, who or what is responsible?_  
  
Hearing a knock, he looked up to see Tally standing in the doorway. The technician’s skin had developed a pink tinge, and her ears were now somewhat pointed.  
  
“M-Mister Yamaki...I think something’s wrong with me,” she said, her voice trembling slightly.  
  
“When did this happen?” he demanded, hastily getting to his feet.  
  
“I didn’t notice until about an hour ago,” she answered. “And Riley—”  
  
She didn’t get the chance to tell him what happened to Riley because at that moment, he felt a sharp twinge in his temples and his back, making him fall to his knees.  
  
“Oh my God, are you okay, sir?”  
  
“Does it look like I’m okay?” snapped Yamaki.  
  
“You’re right. I’m sorry,” Tally quickly apologized. “Maybe you should lie down.”  
  
_I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to rest, just for a while..._  
  
“Can you help me get to the infirmary?”  
  
*  
  
Rika hovered above the spot where she and Renamon had fought against a Dokugumon, and where Renamon had Digivolved into Kyubimon for the first time. Less than a week ago, she had started developing strange abilities—intangibility, invisibility, and flight. It had taken some time for her to get them under control, but once she had done so, she found herself liking them.  
  
And she wasn’t the only one changing, either. Takato had begun emitting some form of radiation, though thankfully at low levels. He could, however, generate higher amounts, primarily in the form of energy blasts. While Henry had yet to develop any abilities, she didn’t doubt that he would do so in time.  
  
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted two figures moving. Instantly, she turned invisible and floated closer. A boy and a girl were huddled between a pair of trees, although the former looked more like a shadow with glowing white eyes.  
  
“What’s happening to us?”  
  
“I wish I knew, Katsu-kun.”  
  
Rika’s eyes widened. Katsuo Fujieda and Yui Shimizu had both been reported missing the day after she first discovered her powers. But neither of them had anything to do with Digimon, as far as she knew.  
  
_So what exactly happened a week ago?_ she wondered.  
  
Just then, the familiar fog that accompanied the emergence of a Digimon began to materialize. Both Katsuo and Yui jolted in alarm.  
  
“What is that?”  
  
Rika, meanwhile, had already sent a mental call to Renamon, and the fox Digimon agreed to bring the other Tamers with her. Hopefully, they could end this quickly.  
  
*  
  
Ben Green yawned and gave a good stretch as he stepped off the plane. He’d slept most of the flight from Japan to New York, and he was almost certain he could stay awake long enough to get home and greet his family. Then straight to bed to sleep off the jet lag—two weeks in Japan on a business trip could wear anyone out.  
  
_I hope Marie and Nicky like the Digimon figurines I got for them_ , he thought to himself as he retrieved her bag. _They told me they were still missing three of the ‘partner Digimon’—Kudamon, Gaomon, and Biyomon, if I recall correctly._  
  
As he turned a corner, he bumped into a woman. Fortunately, both were able to avoid dropping their luggage.  
  
“Sorry, didn’t see you there.”  
  
“It’s all right,” Ben told her. “Pretty tired myself.”  
  
With that, he turned and continued on towards Ground Transportation, not knowing that not only was he slowly turning into the first American member of a new race, but that he was the one who brought the catalyst of transformation to the United States...


	2. Chapter 2

Slowly returning to consciousness, Yamaki found himself looking up at Tally. In addition to her skin being completely bright pink, and her ears more elven-looking, her hair seemed to be interwoven with vines.

“Are you awake, sir?” she asked. “You’ve been unconscious for almost 48 hours.”

“I can’t say I’m surprised,” commented Riley, who was standing nearby. “His changes are more drastic than yours or mine.”

Sitting up, Yamaki looked at her sharply. “What changes, exactly, are you talking about?”

“It looks like those strange signals we’ve been picking up are people who have been mutated,” said Tally. “Exactly what’s causing these mutations is still unknown, but it’s affected all three of us, possibly Hypnos operatives.”

Yamaki briefly shut his eyes, took a deep breath, and mentally counted to ten before letting it out. Staying calm was important. “Go on.”

“In addition to what you see,” Tally continued. “I can apparently control plants.”

She raised a hand, and a potted plant sitting on a nearby table burst into full bloom.

“And Riley...well...she stretches.”

Yamaki raised an eyebrow. “Stretches?”

“Like this.” Riley held out an arm towards the far wall, and it grew in length until she was able to press her palm flat against it. “I’ve done a bit of experimenting, and it appears that it applies to my whole body.”

Yamaki bit his lip. Obviously, he had been affected by...whatever this was...as well. He needed to see his reflection. As he got to his feet, however, he stumbled slightly, Riley stretching out her arm again to catch him.

“Mirror,” he managed to say. “I need to...”

Riley cut him off with a nod, and as she helped him back onto the bed, Tally brought over the full-length mirror that had been propped against the wall. As he caught sight of his reflection, his eyes widened.

His hair had gained a black ombré, and from underneath, two small black horns protruded, curling like those of a ram. Upon his arms and chest (which he’d been too distracted to notice) were intricate, tattoo-like black markings. And most notably of all, a large pair of black feathery wings had grown from his shoulder blades. Looking down at himself, he saw the markings begin to glow with a soft red light. Within his veins, he could feel a surge of what could only be described as power.

A smile crept across Yamaki’s face as he looked back at his reflection. Whatever was happening, he was starting to like it.

*

Just as Takato and Guilmon arrived, the Digital Field had completely dissipated, revealing a tiger Digimon with large wings and purple armor on its legs, shoulders, and haunches. Takato pulled out his Digivice, which revealed the tiger to be Mihiramon, one of the ‘Devas.’

“An Ultimate level Digimon. That’s not good.” 

“He may be powerful, but I think our powers might give us an edge.”

“Worth a try,” Takato agreed.

Holding out a hand, he fired a blast at Mihiramon, leaving a burn on its side. Not wanting to be left out, Guilmon and Renamon joined in.

“Pyro Sphere!”

“Diamond Storm!”

“Armored Tiger Tail!”

As Mihiramon struck back, Rika flew over to where Katsuo and Yuki were hiding.

“I know this is confusing, but I promise I will explain once this guy’s taken care of.”

“Rika!” Takato shouted over. “I think I may have an idea! Can you buy me some time?”

Rika nodded before floating high into the air. “Here, kitty kitty! Come and get me!”

Letting out a roar of fury, Mihiramon gave chase. Down below, Katsuo and Yui looked at each other, up at Rika playing keep away with the winged tiger, then back at each other.

“She could use some help,” Katsuo said, earning a nod from Yui.

He dove into the ground, becoming two-dimensional, as Yui stretched out a hand. A strong wind began to brew, battering at Mihiramon and knocking him off balance. Meanwhile, Katsuo slipped under a large rock, emerging and becoming three-dimensional on the other side. Shattering it to pieces with a forceful punch, he picked up the pieces and began throwing them at Mihiramon.

While all this was going on, Takato had used his blue card to evolve Guilmon—first into Growlmon, and then into WarGrowlmon, his Ultimate form. Climbing onto WarGrowlmon’s back to get a better shot, the gogglehead charged up a radiation blast.

“Take this, you overgrown furball!”

“Atomic Blaster!”

The two attacks struck Mihiramon, who let out a yowl before bursting into data. Grinning in satisfaction, Takato hopped down as WarGrowlmon de-Digivolved, Rika descending to join him and the others.

“Now, about that explanation...”

*

Meanwhile, Henry was on his way home, having been excused from school due to a call from his father. He wasn’t sure what was so urgent, but apparently neither of his parents could come pick him up.

A loud honk made him look up to see a car moving towards him. To his surprise, it and everything else around him seemed to slow down to a crawl. He quickly moved out of the way, and everything returned to normal speed, the car screeching to a halt.

“Why don’t you watch where you’re going?” a man shouted at the driver.

“I need to take my wife to the hospital!”

“That’s no reason to put everyone else in danger!”

Feeling there was no need for him to stick around, and needing to get home, Henry ran off. Only when he reached his front door did he realize that everything around him had been a blur. Looking down at his watch, he saw that it had taken him less than five minutes to get there from the site of the near-accident.

“That’s impossible...”

Mind whirling, Henry went inside. “Dad?”

“We’re in the bathroom,” his father called.

Quickly, Henry headed for his parents’ bathroom, but as he passed by Suzy’s room, he heard his sister gasp.

“Henry! Your doll’s talking!”

Afraid that Terriermon had accidentally blown his cover, Henry dashed in.

“Terriermon!”

“I didn’t say anything—oop!”

Covering his mouth, Terriermon went slightly red.

<Oh boy, how am I going to explain this one?>

“Explain what?” Suzy asked innocently.

*

It was proving to be a stressful day for Nami Asaji. First her alarm clock failed to wake her on time, due to a power outage the night before. Then she spilled her coffee on the principal, earning her a (thankfully brief) lecture. And now, she had to deal with a classroom full of noisy students. Not to mention there was this strange pressure building at the base of her throat, roughly around where her voice box was.

<God, I really hope I’m not coming down with laryngitis.>

Looking around, she saw that three of her students—Rika Nonaka, Takato Matsuda, and Henry Wong—were all absent. The latter two had come in earlier, but had left, while Rika simply hadn’t shown up. In her mind, three fewer students in class just made things easier, so she’d let it slide this time.

“Nakabayashi! Aoyama! Terayama! I am in no mood for shenanigans, so be quiet!”

The three boys fell quiet, and Nami continued her lesson. But while Taizou Aoyama and Yuuji Terayama did their best to listen, Tadashi Nakabayashi was clearly preoccupied with something—probably a manga—concealed behind his textbook.

“Nakabayashi, I told you to PAY ATTENTION!”

The last two words were accompanied by the feeling of some unseen force, the strange pressure in her throat vanishing. Said force threw Tadashi backwards, straight into the wall. Nami clapped a hand over her mouth as she ran over to see if Tadashi was injured. Astonishingly, Tadashi was not only unharmed, but he seemed to have put a large dent in the wall.

Looking up at her students, Nami said the only thing she could think of.

“...class dismissed.”


	3. Chapter 3

“So let me get this straight.” Katsuo rubbed his forehead. “You guys are Digimon Tamers, which means you are partnered to actual Digimon?”

“Mm-hmm,” Takato confirmed with a nod. “Guilmon is my partner, and Renamon’s with Rika.”

Yui glanced over at where Guilmon and Renamon were sitting, the former chowing down on bread loaves while the latter was eyeing one of her own like it was about to attack her. Somehow, it was hard to believe that these two were part of the same species as the creature that had attacked them, never mind that said species was from a work of fiction.

“If I might ask,” she said, turning back. “How long have you guys had your abilities?”

“About a week,” Rika said. “Same for you two, I’m guessing.”

Katsuo nodded. “Do you think the Digital World has anything to do with these...changes?”

“I don’t remember any of the tamers in the show having powers like this,” Yui pointed out, making a gust of wind swirl around her hand. “But I wouldn’t rule it out.”

*

Heavy footsteps echoed through the footsteps of the Shinjuku Hypnos base as two squads worth of operatives dressed in full protective gear ran down the hallways. The rank and file personnel were quick to get out of their way as they made a beeline for the infirmary.

“Shishigawa, do you have confirmation?”

“Affirmative. Three definitely infected. Looks like this base is compromised.”

“Squad B, evacuate everyone not confirmed as infected, and make sure they get checked out. Squad A, with me.”

Once Squad B had set off, Squad A kicked down the door to the infirmary, catching the attention of Yamaki, Riley, and Tally.

“Stun guns and tranq rifles,” Riley noted. “I’m assuming they mean to take us alive.”

“Even so, they won’t take us at all.”

Nodding, Riley sprang into action, combining her CQC training with her elasticity. Yamaki turned to Tally.

“I don’t think your ability will be much use without plant life present. Take cover.”

Ducking underneath one of the beds, Tally closed her eyes, trying to see if she could bring in plants from outside. Meanwhile, Yamaki’s sigils began to glow again.

“Damnit!” the squad leader shouted. “Take him down, now!”

One of the men fired his tranq rifle at Yamaki, but he instinctively spread his wings and let them lift him out of harm’s way. Were Yamaki less professional, he probably would have whooped in delight at being able to fly. As it was, he settled for letting out a short bark of triumphant laughter before holding out a hand. There was a loud whooshing sound, and black and red flames engulfed said hand, though they clearly weren’t hurting him.

“Pretty impressive, no?” he inquired. “Given my fallen angel-esque appearance...I think I’ll call it hellfire.”

With that, he shot a stream of hellfire at an operative, sending him flying backward into a computer bank, before opening a window and flying out. Grabbing Tally, Riley followed, stretching her arms and legs to pull off some expert acrobatics as Tally clung on tightly.

Meanwhile, the stunned operative struggled to his feet, only to stop as he noticed sparks flying from the damaged machinery. Before he could warn the rest of the squad, bolts of what resembled neon green electricity shot out and striking him and several of his companions. The ones who weren’t hit checked to make sure they were unharmed before dashing out to report. As they did so, one of the operatives pulled off his helmet and one of his gloves. Underneath, he saw that his hand was covered in camo-patterned scales, and his fingernails were turning into sharp claws.

“Oh no...”

*

 _I still can’t believe I’m actually doing this_ , Airi thought to herself. _But I know they’re going to be worried, so I need to leave them a note, at least._

Taking a moment to glance down at the sidewalk below and make sure no one had seen here, she continued to scale the wall of the building. Her body was now completely covered in scales, and a pair of dragonfly-esque wings had sprouted from her back. Curious as she was about whether or not they worked, she had a feeling they weren’t flight ready just yet. Much like an insect, she could adhere to solid surfaces easily. Hopefully, this was the extent of her changes.

“Airi-neechan!” two voices squealed happily.

Looking up, Airi saw Ai and Mako Kosaka perched on the wall a short distance above her. The twins resembled a pair of elf-demon hybrids, with purple fur (Ai light purple, and Mako dark purple), pointed ears, prehensile tails ending in small points, and batlike wings protruding from their shoulders.

“Ai! Mako! You...changed, too?”

Mako nodded. “We both woke up like this. Dad said we should stay home until we turn back, but I don’t think we’re gonna.”

“Neither do I,” Airi admitted. “You...haven’t tried flying yet, have you?”

“Mom said not to,” Ai huffed. “She got upset when Mako tried to jump out the window.”

“I could try and talk to her,” Airi offered. “Did she leave yet?”

*

Ben had never been more grateful for the fact that he could work from home. Only a few days after he returned home, he had begun developing lupine traits, though he thankfully didn’t go any further than looking like a werewolf. His wife Melissa had changed as well, as she was now able to generate electricity.

“I just don’t know what to do,” Ben said with a sigh, turning away from his computer to look at his wife. “There’s only so many sick days one can take.”

“You sure you didn’t catch anything on your trip?” Melissa asked.

“Last I checked, there’s no disease that turns you into a werewolf or living taser,” answered Ben with a slight chuckle.

“Are you sure about that?” Melissa tapped her chin in thought. “Isn’t there some sort of condition which makes people look like werewolves?”

“Porphyria, you mean? Don’t think that’s the case.”

“I swear, I have no idea how I did that.”

Both of them looked up at the sound of the front door opening. Thanks to his much more sensitive ears, Ben could hear his son Nicky talking to someone unfamiliar.

“It was still really cool, though.”

“Can’t argue with that. I would say it has to do with whatever happened to...”

Nicky stopped upon seeing his parents at the kitchen table. The small blue creature accompanying him froze as well. For a moment, there was silence as everyone looked at each other, then Nicky spoke again.

“Looks like I got some explaining to do, huh?”


End file.
